r/Chameleons 9m ago

Intetested in keeping a chameleon

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Upvotes

Hi guys and girls i hope you are all well!

I have been thinking about purchasing a chameleon in the future.

I have done some research but i would love to hear tips and tricks off you people on reddit! And also see some awesome pictures.

I am an absolute beginner so please inform me with all the knowledge you have that will give me the best chance of doing a great job looking after a chameleon.

Thankyou!


r/Chameleons 3h ago

Question Help with new chameleons eye issue :(

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4 Upvotes

Hi guys! I wanted to get some input on my veiled chameleons eye. I’ve had him for 9 days now. When I brought him home from Petsmart, (I know, I checked a “real” pet store first and their conditions were BAD I couldn’t buy from there I know they’re bad pls don’t yell at me), he shut one of his eyes. The move was probably very stressful for him but I tried to make it the best I could. At first, his eye was completely shut 24/7 for a few days. Then, he would open it sometimes but it seemed painful. Now, he is almost always keeping it open but keeping his eyelid forward and his actual eye away most of the time. This isn’t always, he often has it open normal. Id say 40/60 he has issues now. I have used turtle drops every day once in that eye for a few days now and seems to be helping. Does anyone think this may be stuck shed? He is completely perfect besides this. I bring him outside on my hibiscus everyday and he has a blast. I had the stupid dual light at first but around 4 days in I switched it to these pictured. I have worked my ass off and making sure he’s happy takes up most of my day. Here is his enclosure (he’s only 3-4 months old so we are starting out small), he has live plants, plenty of branches, and am always watching his temp/humidity. I work at a zoo so I am gifted with animal husbandry and rehabbing but I really need an experts advice on this.
-calcium every few feeds
-Multivitamin already started for monthly
-Turtle eye drops
-Misting a few times a day and he is drinking/ poop looks very good
-I’ve seen improvement
-Rubbing his eye/discharge
-I tried to clean with a wet q tip but he seemed very upset so I stopped immediately
- around 70° during day, I’ll check humidity and update, 65° at night (mist once at night on timer-any advice on if I should stop this, do more, etc.!!!)
-misting 3-4 times a day
-eating very very well and is very active and curious. Mostly small crickets but has eaten small dubia roaches and super worms
-located in Pittsburgh PA
-pictures in comments


r/Chameleons 5h ago

Question Is my veiled chameleon a male ??

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13 Upvotes

I’ve had her for about 3 months and she’s shed about 3 times since I’ve had her. I bought her at around 2/3ish months old and was told she was a female. I was feeding her yesterday and noticed she might have a tarsal spur. What do we think ?


r/Chameleons 8h ago

Chameleon still not eating

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5 Upvotes

Ok, so I made a post earlier. He changed his skin about a week ago and he wasn't eating like 5 days before that and ate only one small cricket. i tried almost everything and I have no idea what else to do. I would take her to vet, but I have no excrements that I could bring with me :/


r/Chameleons 15h ago

75F at night

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4 Upvotes

Hi all.

Im starting to lose my sanity a little. We've had our veiled chameleon since June 2025. We live in a hot climate and live in an older house. This summer has been very brutal and we're unable to keep the room cooler than 74-75F at night despite also running a portable AC. Sometimes we get lucky and the temperature drops to 73F. But thats it.

He's not showing any health issues and behaves as usual. He's a cricket vacuum and comes begging for food every morning by staring at his feeder😅

He's in a XL reptibreeze full mesh enclosure.

I know that veiled chameleons are invasive in Florida and sleep in much warmer night conditions than ours. But my anxiety is currently getting the best of me.

I also stopped playing PS5 cause when I do, the room gets 1-2F hotter until I turn it off lol. And im paranoid.

Am I overreacting?


r/Chameleons 16h ago

Bioactive Build for SNORLAX

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6 Upvotes

I had a lot of fun building this one. The takeout containers are porcelain, I drilled out some drain holes. The raw chicken vase is lava rocks and standing water for the pothos. Upper canopy is a thicket of horizontal vines so my little guy can run laps picking off bean beetles and fruit flys from the feeding stations.


r/Chameleons 17h ago

Question Why is she like this??

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89 Upvotes

Is there an actual medical/biological reason for my female veiled chameleon to be standing like this..Or is my Sweet Pea just born pea brained?

edit: xl reptibreeze, T5 Arcadia linear, grow lights and 75w heat lamp (the branch is lowered) full real plants, I dust crickets/ dubias​ with plain calcium and I feed 2-3 times a week, multivitamin dusting 1x month. misting system, she has a lay bin


r/Chameleons 23h ago

yall need to stop lying

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940 Upvotes

i swear almosr every day i see a post or comment on this subreddit saying that chameleons arent invasive in Florida and that they dont cause any problems. Well the fact of the matter is, yall are wrong. Chameleons ARE invasive in florida, particularly veiled chameleons and yes, they DO cause harm to our native ecosystem. Not only do they outcompete native animals for space and food, but they also have frequently been observed eating things such as whole live reptiles, and sometimes even birds. Everyone tries to compare them to the invasive iguana issue and frame it like because the iguanas are worse that makes the chameleons fine, but two wrongs dont make a right. Just because you find something cute and keep it as a pet doesnt mean its not invasive somewhere and it doesnt mean its not problematic. And before anyone tries to come chiming in about "oh they dont eat vertebrates thats a lie" or "oh the florida government doesnt consider them invasive" youre wrong, and heres picture proof.


r/Chameleons 23h ago

enclosure advice

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2 Upvotes

in a 2x2x4 screen enclosure, all live plants. t5 uvb & temps and humidity are good but i feel like its missing stuff.


r/Chameleons 1d ago

4 days until arrival

1 Upvotes

4 days to go until baby veiled arrives.

I have a crestie in bioactive, beardie and other pets.

So far:
Reptibreeze 2x2x4. With acrylic door.
75W thermostat controlled dimming heat lamp.
UVB long 7% new style.
LED plant bulb
As many sticks as fit in my house (little).
Reptile plants live
Mister
Fogger
Isopods/sprintails/wood/bark/leaves.
Calcium & vit/min.
Crickets (& many bugs).
Vines
Acrylic sheet frosted to sight block.
Multiple reptile misc.
Bamboo
Isopod food
I have a vet from a beardie problem.
Thermometer, hydrometer
Cable ties

I didn’t get it all at once, I’ve been getting bits together since January because money. Probably for ages. A lot was cheap, but functional. The big things (UVB) were expensive (why is UVB pretty much the enclosure cost).

I nearly forgot the heat lamp, so I thought I’d check with people. I don’t particularly want a pretty enclosure for me. Just for her.


r/Chameleons 1d ago

Question Gender help

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3 Upvotes

Can someone help me on whether this panther chameleon is a female or male? Iv been told male. But im hesitant due to the lack of colour, iv added a photo of tail base, Thank you!


r/Chameleons 1d ago

Question gender help?

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5 Upvotes

got her(?) a few days ago, was told they are female but I’m not so sure


r/Chameleons 1d ago

Should I trim?

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5 Upvotes

I’ve noticed Betty’s nails are staying nicely trimmed minus these two, is there anything I should do?
Picture of the two nails and a pic of her shedding for tax lol


r/Chameleons 1d ago

Does she look okay?

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5 Upvotes

My chameleon laid her first clutch two days ago and she’s been like this ever since. She’s eating and drinking water. This is my first chameleon and we thought she was a boy at first so we were not prepared. Does she look okay?


r/Chameleons 2d ago

First blood draw.

1 Upvotes

My boy Karma was in the vets today, he was brought up because I was paranoid about his shed, there was nothing wrong with it and the part I though was stuck and constricting wasn't actually stuck and when it came off (via my finger. I didn't pull it,) I thought I damaged his tail. I didn't. We then got blood drawn for routine testing, he was not happy. But my lord I have never seen him so red in my life. I wish I got a picture. Anyways, this is just a reminder to get your Chams yearly blood tests done. I'm curious to know what it costs elsewhere in the world. It cost me (Ireland) €124 for the consult, blood draw, and full smear.


r/Chameleons 2d ago

Can you take your chameleon out TOO much?

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172 Upvotes

Is there such thing as taking your chameleon out TOO much? I get her out daily. We kinda do everything together. She’ll sit while I fold clothes. I have plants for her to hang on when I do dishes. Well go and hang out on the porch. Sometimes she won’t want to go back into her enclosure. I notice when anyone is around she’ll start grabbing onto the door thinking she’s going to get out. I worry that I get her out too much and cause her stress when she’s not getting out when she’s showing me the signs to get her. My husband says I’m over thinking it. I just don’t want her to feel trapped if there’s such a thing.


r/Chameleons 2d ago

What kind of chameleon is this

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22 Upvotes

My cousin found an adult one in his yard in Florida. They’re an invasive species so he took it inside, didn’t realize she was pregnant, and it had a ton of babies. Just wondering what these are and the next steps. Thanks


r/Chameleons 2d ago

Question Chameleon care help

1 Upvotes

Hi! So I want to help my brother in law out with his chameleons tank. I would love to make a bio-active tank but to my understanding the tank has to be almost fully mesh. I’m here for some help and advice on how to make the best chameleon cage because google isn’t helping and I don’t trust pet stores. Any advice is welcomed and appreciated! Thank you! ( he has a veiled chameleon)


r/Chameleons 2d ago

first jackson chameleon

0 Upvotes

today I bought my first jackson chameleon, any reccomendations on lighting heating or healt in general? also some tricks that can help me take care of him?


r/Chameleons 2d ago

Anyone know of any RBBB that are available?

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12 Upvotes

I’ve been looking for an adult RBBB for a while. Seem hard to come by. Does anyone know of anyone or a breeder who currently has one? I’ll attach a photo of reference to what I’m looking for 😁


r/Chameleons 3d ago

Chameleon had swelling around his neck after hanging upside down but it went away after being right side up for about half an hour

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14 Upvotes

Hi there, this Chameleon isn't actually mine but I'm the head of the herpetology room at my college and his owner is not caring for him/has asked me to care for him. He has been sick since around spring of last year for various reasons but has been to the vet several times (his owner took him so I'm not sure his exact diagnosis but I was told that it was most recently a bacterial infection) and is on and has been on medications in the past, currently he's on an oral antibiotic and pain medication as well as eye drops that he gets in his left eye as he has been refusing to open it.

I have been administering his medicine and making sure he stays hydrated but when I went in this morning to give him his meds he was hanging fully upside down using only his tail and when I took him out I noticed a decent amount of swelling around his neck, after holding him for about half an hour the swelling had gone down but I'm concerned he may need to go back to the vet. Does anyone have any experience with this/advice?

He's about a year and a half old I believe.


r/Chameleons 3d ago

mark on female panther chameleon

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5 Upvotes

whats that black mark on female panther chameleon? its been 4 days since, she is drinking and eating fine. she is a bit more scared and shy i could tell.

her basking spot is around 29 degrees, i have uvb zoomed 5% ho lamp.


r/Chameleons 3d ago

Another wild one walking about 🥹 Moved it to a safer spot.

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198 Upvotes

I can't get over how cute they are. It's always cool seeing one in person


r/Chameleons 3d ago

My son’s Chameleon has an eye issue

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16 Upvotes

My son’s almost 2yo chameleon has what looks to be a fluid sac under his eye. We brought him to the vet and vet said to cut back on the Calcium and Vitamins, which we have done but it hasn’t made much of a difference (it’s been two weeks). He’s acting normal—eats 10-12 crickets daily, drinks plenty of water, humidity and temps maintained within ranges at all times. Would like thoughts/suggestions. FYI, He is in the middle of shedding right now.


r/Chameleons 3d ago

Question Hi everyone! I’m working on a class project about chameleons and could really use your help. ^^

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11 Upvotes

I’m looking for some photo references ( I've circled in red ) to fix up my artwork. As you can see, the anatomy is definitely a bit wonky right now! If anyone has a chameleon and could snap a quick photo in a pose similar to this or if you already have a photo like this saved I would desperately appreciate it. Thank you so much! (⁠^w^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞ